Things We Lost in the Fire is about that core concept and how it affects people over time. Halle Berry plays Audrey Burke who has just lost her husband to a horrible act of random violence. Her husband, Brian Burke, played by David Duchovny, was a very passionate lover and father who always tried to do the best for those he cared about.
Brian's best friend since grade school, Jerry (Benicio Del Toro), only keeps in touch every few weeks in between his binges of heroin. Jerry is told that his best friend and only supporter has died and he has to leave to attend the funeral immediately. Jerry and Audrey haven't gotten along in years since Jerry started using, and this is their first meeting since then. Both of them are deeply affected by Brian's death and the two of them experience changes because of it. Eventually, Audrey asks Jerry to move in so that he can get clean, but really she wants a man in the house so she won't feel as lonely.
I found the acting in Things We Lost in the Fire to be outstanding. Apparently Del Toro plays a good junkie (thank you, Fear and Loathing) and watching him try to kick the habit was powerful and heartfelt. Halle Berry plays her role incredibly well. The whole film is always very honest about everything from relationships to coping with grief. My attention was held throughout the entire film and never found anything to come across as ham-handed or pretentious.
The only negative that I have against Things We Lost in the Fire is that it doesn't tie up any ancillary loose ends. I know the main ending is supposed to be open and that life never really ends in the same way as the movie, but the least the director could have done was given us some closure on some secondary characters so we weren't so puzzled when the credits rolled.
But by the end of it, I enjoyed Things We Lost in the Fire. I was completely ignorant going into it and was surprised when I found out that I liked it. The transition to Blu-Ray is only cosmetic. It's all in high-def, which is great, but the special features are only carry overs from the DVD and HD releases and don't really do anything new. But if you have a Blu-Ray player and need a good, serious movie, this is a solid choice provided you don't already own it on DVD.
